Fred Seibert's Blog

Sing Beast Sing (excerpt) Directed by Marv Newland from fredseibert on Vimeo.

Regular readers aren’t at all surprised by the affection director Marv Newland inspires in animation fans. Like me. What most people don’t know is how much Marv loves blues and jazz. An affliction we share.It shouldn’t be surprise to close Marv watchers though. In addition to his award winning short Sing Beast Sing (excerpted above) featuring Willie Mabon (it’s actually where I first heard of Mabon), his film Tales from the Far Side (Gary Larson’s another huge jazz fan) is scored by guitarist Bill Frisell.And anyone who’s caught Marv’s Anijam (an early cartoon jam featuring 22 world famous animators) should know that he’s incorporated the lessons of improvisation are woven deeply into the core of his filmmaking ethos.

So, when I started thinking about producing a jazz documentary entirely in animation I immediately thought of Marv. He been incorporating the lessons of improvisation deeply into his filmmaking ethos from the very beginning (front and center in his film Anijam), and his generosity to other animators reminds deeply of the best jazz band leaders I’ve witnessed.

Here’s hoping I can figure out how to get this thing made.